Arrival in Antigua

Guadeloupe to Antigua

We had a great run fro Marie Galante to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. The ride was about 80 miles and we ended up doing much of it motor sailing as the wind was much lighter than the waves – meaning that the leftover waves from the previous days were large and the wind was about 10 knots which for us is a very light wind. Big waves spill the wind from the sails leaving us underpowered so by running the motor at low RPM (1500) it helps us move through the waves and we burn less diesel.

When we arrived in Falmouth Harbour it was abundantly clear that the boats were assembling for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. To be considered as a Classic Yacht the boat had to have been built prior to the end of World War II. The other criteria were that the boat had to have a full keel and the rudder attached to the keel. Even if the boat was designed and build after the war, on a pre World War II design, it had to meet these criteria to be admissible in the races.

No matter what, the boats were very busy having wood varnished indicated by the blue masking tape everywhere. The boats are beautiful and I am sooooo thankful that Ambition has no teak to keep varnished. We have learned to love our teak as a nice shade of grey! We once had a quotation to have our teak rails that run the length of the bat sanded and 7 coats of varnish applied … US$15,000 …. I love grey teak!!! 

There are a number of very famous yachts in Falmouth Harbour with us. By far the yacht that is most widely recognizable is the 288 foot long Maltese Falcon. This yacht was originally built for Tom Perkins in 2006 and the three masts carrying 25,700 square feet of square rigged sails are able to be rotated to the correct sailing angle. All sails are managed by computer (I hope that they run on a Mac not Windows!) to determine the perfect trim for the sea and wind conditions. She is available for charter and the for the US$425,000 plus expenses, the crew of 19 will ensure that you and 11 of your friends will be delightfully taken care of for a week! 

Maltese Falco,

Not to be outdone by the Maltese Falcon crew, the boys on board Eros found the perfect spot to enjoy a sunset with a cold beer….. probably not the best spot if you were going to have a lot more than one, but a good spot  none the less!

There are 4 J class sailing yachts in the harbor as well. These yachts were built during the years 1930 and 1937 to compete in the Americas Cup races. The original boats were all made of wood but these have been built of fiberglass and carbon fiber based on the original designs by some very passionate owners as the dollars involved in sailing and maintaining these yachts must be incredible. On shore at the yacht club you will find at least 4 or 5 40’ shipping containers with the yacht name inscribed on the side – these are their stockrooms of spare parts and workshops. They follow these yachts wherever they go.

J Class

All these super yachts have one feature at least that differentiates themselves from the rest of us sailing people. At night us smaller sailing boats illuminate a white anchor light at night at the top of our 75 or 100 foot tall masts to make sure we are visible, so no other boats run into us at night while anchored. The mega sailing yachts illuminate a red light at the top of their masts to ensure that airplanes do not run into them at night! A subtle but significant difference no?